


What Could've Been

by Sweetnpinnk



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Extended Scene, F/M, S03 Chat Blanc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 03:33:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21403492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sweetnpinnk/pseuds/Sweetnpinnk
Summary: If Chat Noir and Ladybug had only a little more time to talk before she'd returned to the present...Picks up right after Chat has been de-akumatized.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, ladynoir, marichat - Relationship
Comments: 32
Kudos: 712





	What Could've Been

**Author's Note:**

> *Radio host voice* We interrupt this nanowrimo/years-long fanfic hiatus to return Katherine to the ML fandom! 
> 
> That's right kiddos. Chat Blanc personally came into my house, kicked my ass, and forced me to write this fic. And because I had to suffer, I'm bringing y'all down with me.

“Bye bye little butterfly…” Ladybug watched the small white butterfly flutter away, quiet and light until it landed in Chat’s cupped hands. Icy blue only moments ago, familiar green eyes stared at the small creature until they crinkled, a small smile on his face. She watched him quietly, heart twisting in her chest.

There was the slightest suction of wind and the duo turned towards the glowing white disk that had appeared out of thin air, Bunnix’s upper half sticking out. An ecstatic smile lit up her face.

“Good job! You did it Minibug!” Bunnix said. Ladybug felt a small weight lift from her shoulders and her breathing felt a little easier. Everything was okay again. Everything was okay. She looked back at Chat who stared back at her.

Everything was okay… Wasn’t it?

Puzzled and disoriented, Chat glanced between the rabbit-eared hero and his lady. His head was swimming and an uncomfortable weight sat in the pit of his stomach. Ladybug’s shoulders seemed to sag a little less and though she smiled at him, it wasn’t her usual bright one. It didn’t reach her eyes.

“Marinette?” Chat asked. “What happened?”

The worry that had been an underlying niggling in his stomach churned into something dark and heavy that sank straight to his toes as she looked away. He silently cursed his foggy mind as he grasped at the fuzzy images that seemed to swim just below the surface.

“Marinette,” Chat repeated, chest tight. His ears were ringing in the stretching silence. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re still calling me Marinette.” Her head was bowed and he noticed that she couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “You’re not supposed to know who I am. It means that if I use my miraculous ladybug to fix everything right now…”

“You’ll still have this memory of her.” Bunnix finished. 

Chat Noir felt like he’d been punched, flinching sharply. The butterfly flickered, startled away from the sudden movement. What were they saying? What was going on? “But why would I want to forget you? I love-” The butterfly had moved into his peripheral and he found his eyes drawn to the small white flutter. And then he saw.

A sharp breath lodged itself in his throat as he took notice of what had once been Paris.

The water stretched across the horizon. Only the tops of several buildings hovered above the plane of water, small islands floating amidst utter devastation.

And the pieces stitched themselves back together, slowly, painfully. His pulse quickened and he felt the dread cling to him, pulling him down like a lead weight. 

“Did- did I do this?” He already knew as the words tumbled from his lips. Then Ladybug nodded and his knees nearly buckled.

“It’s not your fault, Chat.” Ladybug said. Her voice was firm, but he could hear the tears she was holding back. “You’d been akumatized by Hawkmoth. I don’t know what happened. Bunnix brought me here to fix it. None of this was supposed to happen.”

“Bunnix brought you here?” Chat asked. “As in… from the past?” She nodded.

“Something happened.” Ladybug said then hesitated a moment. “Something I think I did that caused all of this.”

“You?” Chat couldn’t believe his ears. He could see the guilt swimming in her eyes. “But _I’m_ the one who did this. You can’t possibly think this is your fault Marinette.”

She flinched when he said her name and another piece fell into place.

“Marinette.” He said and his heart seemed to stop in his chest as he stared at the girl he loved. “If you’re from the past… then you don’t know who I am?”

“No.” She shook her head. “And I can’t know anything else. The less I know, the better. So, I have to go back and fix this.”

The beep of her miraculous was piercing in the quiet that followed. She touched it, almost surprised. She’d almost forgotten about it.

“I have to go.” She said. Chat only looked at her and she could see the defeat and acceptance in the sag of his body.

The depth of sadness behind those eyes drilled deep into her. This was a Chat from the near future. One full of love, one of loss. She could see it all. This wasn’t her Chat, and this boy in front of her… her chaton… she didn’t know anything about.

She didn’t know what happened. She couldn’t know. But if she had… would it have prevented anything? Could she have saved him from this despair?

He still hadn’t said anything and Bunnix was growing impatient.

“Minibug,” She hissed. “We have to go!”

Ladybug sighed, but as she turned to leave she felt a hand grab hers. Heart leaping into her throat, she turned back to see Chat clutching onto her. It wasn’t a tight grip, but she felt locked in place all the same. Her miraculous beeped again.

“Chat?” She said, voice gentle. She reached with her free arm to take the hand that gripped her. “I really have to-“

“If you’re going back,” He said. “What will happen to this timeline? Will all of this have just never happened?” The heartbreak was palpable in his voice and she felt her own heart squeeze.

“I don’t know.” She said because she didn’t. 

“Will that mean that none of this ever mattered?”

The words caught her by surprise, but they didn’t seem like a real question. He hadn’t been looking at her when he said them as if they’d come out unconsciously.

“Of _course_ it mattered.” She said, and the power of her words shocked him. Unspilled tears glistened in her eyes. “Everything that happened, everything you _felt_ – it _matters_. I wouldn’t be going back if it didn’t.” 

He stared at her, searching the pool of endless blue, hating himself a little more as the tears threatened to fall.

“I’m so sorry this happened.” She cried, clutching onto him. She knew he couldn’t remember as the akumatized never did, but he had been in such pain. She’d seen the despair, the sorrow, the _loneliness. _How long had he been sitting there? How long had he been waiting for his lady to return? A chill crept up her spine as she remembered the way her future-self had dissolved into dust at the bottom of the ocean surrounding them.

She couldn’t know what had caused it, but she wanted to. She wanted to so badly it hurt. She had to prevent this from happening again. She was supposed to be his partner, his best friend… the person he could rely on. And she had failed him when it mattered most.

“Minibug!” Bunnix cried once more.

“I really have to go.” Ladybug said again. Chat nodded, but before he let her go, his hand slid into hers and he squeezed tightly. He gripped her desperately as if she was the only thing keeping him grounded, the only thing keeping him from plunging into the dark.

“I know.” He said. His tone was sad but resigned, and she knew he was letting her go. “But before you do, I need to tell you something. Just in case I’ll never be able to again.”

“Chat, I-”

“I love you, Marinette.” Chat said it with such conviction that it seemed to steal the air from her lungs. The world fell away then, drawing itself into a fine point as she stared at him, and him at her. “No matter how far you are, no matter how many times something draws us apart, no matter what happens, I’ll always find you. And I’ll always fight to be by your side.”

He drew closer to her then and she found she couldn’t move. His eyes flickered to her lips and she couldn’t do anything, transfixed. She only stared, utterly frozen, gazing into the soft eyes. She wondered if he could feel the frantic beat of her pulse beneath his fingertips as her heart tried pounding out of her chest.

But instead of kissing her, she was only gently tucked against him as he pulled her close into a tight embrace, knocking their foreheads together.

“Thank you, Marinette.” He whispered. “Thank you for bringing me back. Even after knowing what I’m capable of.” 

She squeezed him back tightly then, shaking and burying her head into his chest. His chest grew damp. “I’m going to fix everything Chat Noir. I promise!”

“I never had a doubt, my lady.” He said and she felt him nuzzle gently into her hair. Then he let go.

Ladybug backed away and wiped away her tears, her heart still not quite settled. Her miraculous beeped again. She seriously couldn’t linger anymore, she was risking the safety of the future. She stepped part-way through the portal.

“Oh, one more thing!” Chat called after her and when she looked back, the mischievous smile was back on his face. Butterflies took flight in her stomach. “You should go ahead and confess to that idiot you love!”

She was so taken aback by this random statement, she nearly stumbled, her face turning hot. “What are you- I-”

“I think sometimes people just need a push in the right direction. Some guys are a little more blind and stupid than others.”

“How dare you!” She shrieked, the defensive retort more of a reflex than an actual thought she meant to say. “He’s not stupid! He’s extremely kind, great, and-” Her words died away then because she noticed how he smiled at her. A genuine, soft, loving smile.

The weirdest thing was that she felt like she’d seen that smile before, imagined something akin to thunder echoing. It was so nostalgic, resonated in a place deep in her soul.

And she realized that the butterflies in her stomach had not eased, but only fluttered harder. 

“Goodbye Marinette.” That was the last thing she heard before Bunnix pulled her through the portal. Pulled her away from him.

But it wasn’t goodbye, she thought to herself, as the warmth of the miraculous ladybug swirled around her, setting everything right within its wake. She would see him again soon.

And later that day, when she found him sitting alone, she sat by his side. Hooking her arm into his and laying her head against his shoulder, she held on tight and was glad that he didn’t ask her what was wrong and didn't press her. He was just there because he was always there for her. And she for him.

Bunnix had said that what had been seen couldn’t be unseen. Chat Noir’s parting words still echoed in her head. They wouldn’t be letting her go that easily. The way he had looked at her… called her name.

She didn’t know anything of what had happened, but she was afraid of drawing assumptions. Afraid of what ripples it would cause in the present. Because Chat Noir had been in love with her. And not just Ladybug, but all of her. In love with Marinette.

And… she had probably been in love with him too.

She couldn’t just forget that.

But right now, she wasn’t going to think about it. She wanted to focus on the Chat with her now, the one that lived and breathed and smiled. The one at her side.

As the sun glowed, dipping down the horizon, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever. But there would be time for that later.

Right now, this was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys... I have feelings. Man oh man, sorry for the vomit that I produced here. I practically flew to my computer immediately after the episode so this is barely editted. I have so many feeling, some of which are listed below: 
> 
> 1\. I think we're all on the same page on how Gabriel Agreste can go throw himself into the dumpster :)))) 
> 
> 2\. As much as I think Chat Blanc could've been a better season finale, I'm still excited for what's to come and I think there's still room for them to grow as individuals before a proper reveal. Honestly, I hope when it finally happens it'll be umbrella-scene-equivalent on scale of impact and romance. No offense to Luka or Kagami, but Adrienette is end game so ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> 3\. Now, as some of you may know, I'm not exactly the _ best _ at updating, but I've been inspired to maybe turn this one-shot into a 3-part collection. The next two one-shots will include a snippet of their time dating and then a peek into the future. And then, maybe (but definitely after S03 is finished airing , which I think will be in a few days now) a sequel marichat fic based on this fic. But that is a hard MAYBE
> 
> Anyways, I hope you've enjoyed this :) It's been a good while since I wrote fic, so I hope it was okay. Let me know what you thought!! Ok back to nanowrimo-ing byeee


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